Bodega Bay/Tomales Bay

Shallow Rockfish Action Sizzles

BODEGA BAY – Rockfish and lingcod action has been solid in the shallow reefs on the days that the New Sea Angler has been out fishing along the Sonoma County coastline.

“The fishing has been excellent in shallow water, with some lingcod mixed in,” :reported Rick Powers of the New Sea Angler. “On my latest trip out, the 13 anglers 1caught limits of rockfish, and 4 lingcod to 11 pounds. There was some late afternoon wind.”

The previous trip by the New Sea Angler produced 28 lingcod to 16 pounds and 150 rockfish.

The recreational groundfish regulations in the San Francisco Management Area (from Point Arena to Pigeon Point) are available here: https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=185056&inline

Meanwhile, anglers are getting ready for the short salmon opener. “As of Friday night Windy.com is calling for good weather for the salmon opener. They also called for horrible weather a day or two ago. If the good weather actually happens it will likely also be the salmon closure at least until September's season. The best bet for catching is the Half Moon Bay to Monterey area, as they usually have quite a few fish this time of year,” said Willie Vogler at Lawson’s Landing in Dillon Beach.

“Tomales and Bodega Bays have generally poor salmon action in early June, but have also had a few banner years with lots of fish in the early season,” he noted. “With as much wind and upwelling as we've had, I'd guess that this isn't going to be one of those good years. But, the forecast also shows nice weather for most of the week before the weekend, so there may actually be a chance for schools of bait and krill to form up and salmon to find them.”

“Back in April there were anchovies out in 240 to 300 feet of water due west from here, but as you may know, things can change a lot in a day and in two months they have likely changed many, many times. There's always a possibility of fish in close in the shallows but the chances of us being that lucky are really, really slim,” Vogler stated.

“CDFW wardens have been busy here this week. Low tides have the wardens writing lots of tickets for people without licenses, people digging other people's clams, having your clams all in the same bucket (they need to be in separate containers, FYI) and no Boater Safety Card. Yes, if you haven't got your Boater's Card yet you probably ought to before the salmon opener as there may be a few wardens out checking then. Like, all of them. Also, check your flares as I'd bet the USCG may be patrolling as well,” Vogler advised.

“Gage and I tried Inverness for halibut yesterday. We ended up trolling from there to Marshall and back for two shorts and a windburn. We probably should have tried around Hog as it seems there have been slightly more fish caught there than anywhere else in the bay lately. Maybe we shall see a few from there this weekend if the currents don't make it unfishable,” he concluded.

• Dan Bacher